The House of Representatives says it will commence a quarterly dialogue with security, Intelligence, law enforcement and paramilitary agencies to discuss the state of affairs of the nation’s security.
Its Committee on National Security and Intelligence gave the hint at a workshop for members on enhancing effective legislative oversight of the nation’s security and Intelligence sector.
Organised banditry, kidnappings, separatist agitations and terrorist attacks have in the last decade exerted more pressure on the nation’s security architecture.
While the security and paramilitary forces continue to take the fight to the bandits, legislative interventions have also proven effective in bringing a near end to the myriad of security challenges facing the country.
Experts say effective legislative oversight serves as a critical mechanism for holding government institutions accountable and achieving transparency.
This workshop for members of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence is to enhance the capacity and expertise for effective oversight.
Lawmakers say quarterly dialogue has become inexpedient
Security agencies applauded the many efforts of the National Assembly to address the challenges they face, including funding and enabling laws.
But they asked for more, especially the passage of the Money Laundering Prevention Amendment Bill and the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Bill before the parliament
At the end of the capacity building exercise, members are expected to be more technically enabled to begin strategic oversight on such critical emerging challenges as cyber crimes and terrorism financing which pose serious threats to Nigeria’s security.
